Spinach Crêpes with Apple & Chickpeas

If you put a word counter on Elsa, there would be a few ugly ones topping the most popular list. But if you continue down from “poop” and “pee”, you would eventually find the word “pancakes” on fifth or sixth place on the list.

Our daughter talks about pancakes several times each day. It’s her robotic answer to the question “what would you like to have for dinner?”. Or breakfast. Even if we don’t eat pancakes every day, it is a pretty frequent dish in our home. So to make them more nutritious and interesting, we try to come up with different varieties.

We do whole grain rye pancakes, banana pancakes, almond pancakes, kaniwa pancakes, Indian dosa with sweet potatoes, chocolate pancakes for dessert, baked pancakes and … green hulk pancakes (or Spinach Crêpes as we call them here). They are very simple to make, just mix the batter in a blender together with spinach (or kale) and some fresh herbs. You might want to start out with less spinach and add more as your kids get used to the flavor. The recipe is of course great for adults as well. If you add a bit more fresh herbs to the batter, the pancakes will taste like they are pesto infused. These pancakes are topped with a Chickpea, Apple & Tahini Filling that has a slightly sweet flavor that usually goes well with kids and grown-ups alike.

Here is video from our YouTube channel, showing you how we make them. We use a hand blender in the video, but a stand blender is even easier to use.

Spinach Crêpes with Chickpea, Apple & Tahini FillingServes 4

The buckwheat flour we use in Sweden is quite light in colour. If you use a dark buckwheat flour the pancakes will get a more earthy colour than ours.

Place all the crepe ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix with a hand (immersion) blender until smooth and green. This step can also be done in a regular blender. Refrigerate the batter for 30 minutes.

Heat an 8 inch / 20 cm frying pan on medium heat. Add a pinch of oil and when it is melted, about 1/3 cup / 80 ml of the batter. Tilt the pan in circles until the batter is evenly distributed. Fry for about 1 minute on each side, until the pancakes are golden and can be turned easily. Fry all of the pancakes and put on a baking sheet to cool off.

Preparing the filling: Whisk tahini, oil and lemon juice together in a mixing bowl. Add grated apple, salt and pepper and stir to combine. Add the chickpeas and mix it with your hands until the chickpeas are coated.

Add a generous dollop of the filling in the centre of each crepe. Fold the crepe over the filling and serve.

99 Comments

Wendy

14 Apr ’16 at 12:52

I've just put these on the table for dinner, mixing in some rye flour to the wheat and mint instead of basil. My kids devoured them without mercy. Utterly fantastic. I can't believe I've never thought of adding spinach into crepes before - ingenious. With the interesting filling, these are healthy, innovative and very tasty. Our kind of food. Thanks much!

Today I tried to make this pancakes. I followed directly your recipe with cow milk+ water. Everything was fantastic until the moment when I start to fry them.I could not turn it over. I was so frustrated because I hoped that it will be easy to cook. When I turn the pancake down, it start broken on a small pieces. What kind of mistake did I do? thank you.

These are absolutely delicious I made them for dinner a while ago, now I keep making the filling for an afternoon snack, sooo good!
And the crepes are perfect crepes, they really work for anything, thanks for a lovely recipe guys, it's a keeper :)

I made these with the gluten free flour recipe from The Minimalist Baker and they turned out delicious! The apple/tahini mix compliments them well, but I'd also recommend serving them alongside Moroccan and Indian dishes.

Hi Dave and Luise,
Thank you for this recipes. It was delicious! This one will definitely be a recurrent dish. Especially since it is quick to make as well!
Any chance you'll put your Indian and almond varieties on the website some time?
(cauliflower couscous was great too, perfect packed lunch dish!)
Thanks.
Very best,
Dyonne

I absolutely love this recipe! I was just wondering what type of pan you use? I've tried so many pans but this looks perfect! Also would rice flour work as an alternative do you think?
Many thanks, absolutely love your blog and cookery books thank you :) x

I just made these crêpes, and oh my, they were delicious!
They turned oud so perfect, it made me extremely happy.
I'm still smiling, and they have been devoured hours ago. :)
Love from The Netherlands <3